Willow Trees With Crying Leaves
by wirbil
Summary: 9: Medusa just wants the best for Stein. Insanity is the best there is, darling. -Discontinued-
1. ONE

**Disclaimer: Soul Eater solely belongs to Atsushi Okubo**

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Papa has always loved Maka and Mama best. He loved the two of them very, very, very much. So much that he made Mama and Maka go away.

It had started out well enough. Kami and Spirit were very much in love with each other. They cuddled, giggled, laughed, and blushed when old grandmothers smiled fondly in their direction. They were the average couple except for the part of their relationship that included collecting souls for a Shinigami but that's all right! It's not like it mattered much because it only strengthened their bonds.

He was always by her side. He was used to being next to her and being wielded by her in battle. What if he wasn't there when she needed it? What would happen to her?

So he stayed with her for whole days on end. He never minded much because aside from Kami and Stein he didn't have many friends. Being a Death Scythe was intimidating toward some people.

She had told him that she needed space. That she wanted some time to herself. He didn't quite understand that but he took her statement to heart. He spent more time with Stein (drinking). He spent more time wandering around town and wondering if he should get a gift for Kami or Maka.

Women gave him looks as he walked by but he ignored them because he loved Mama and Maka best.

Kami had always had a protective streak. She knew he had been a bit of a womanizer before the two had met. Kami was paranoid by the looks he got.

Anything after that was ancient history.

Papa should have tried harder, for Maka, for Mama.

Papa loved Maka and Mama best.

_I'm not a player I just crush a lot,  
don't try to make me out to be something I'm not.  
I'm not a player I just crush a lot,  
not quite exactly what I think you thought..._

-Crush A Lot by 8th Wave

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**A/N: R&R please! **


	2. TWO

_123_

Mifune met Yei when he was in high school. He was the dork of the school. He was good at some sports, Kendo, to be exact and people admired him on the mat with his mask on and sword in hand. Otherwise, they ignored him. People ignored him. Yei didn't ignore him. She came right up in his face asked him if he wanted some lemon drops. He didn't like candy but for her sake he took one and popped it in his mouth.

It tasted sweet and tart. It tasted bitter some moments and sugary the next. He mused over how it tasted when she walked down the street with him on his way home. She dug her hands under the shoulder straps of her book bag and chattered about superficial things, like the weather or the volleyball teams terrible let down losses. She didn't like sports.

They spent the last few months of school like that.

He would make his way through his day and then head off home. Yei would appear out of nowhere and ask him if he wanted a lemon drop and he would accept or decline depending on how he felt that day. But she would always smile brightly and chatter away. One day on a day of the second to last month of senior year Mifune asked Yei what she would pick as a career after she graduated. She had smiled a sunny smile and told him that she wanted to be a teacher. She wanted to be a kindergarten teacher who laughed with her students and arranged impromptu finger-paint art lessons. She wanted to be a teacher who called out when class ended and handed out snacks or tucked her students onto cots for naptime. She was that dedicated and though Yei seemed like a mild person she was determined. He never thought she had that much passion hidden behind her wide brown eyes that sparkled and glittered as she talked about how much she wanted to protect and love the next generation.

School soon came to a close and on the last few weeks Yei didn't follow Mifune home. He felt a little sad and missed her (just the tiniest bit). He actually became desperate enough that he actually went to visit her home. She lived seven houses to the left of his. He always got home first. When he knocked on the door an old woman answered. He asked about Yei. The woman looked at him curiously and said that no one named Yei lived in her household. He was bewildered. The next day he went up to Yei during school and asked her about where she lived. He was that desperate. She had friend all around her when he asked her, her face froze in a tight smile. Tight lipped she said that clenched teeth that she lived seven houses to the left of his. He shook his head and told her that the matriarch of the household did not have anyone named 'Yei' in her household. Yei had forced a laugh and told him that the woman he had met was her crazy great-grandmother. The woman he had met seemed healthy and very sane but everyone had begun to laugh _at_ him so he didn't pursue the topic. He left. He had always thought that Yei would understand. She didn't.

She died on July 20th in a hit-and-run accident. Six days after school got out. She was walking across a crossroad when a car skidded down the road and hit her on July 16th. On July 19th when Mifune heard he had walked down to the hospital bringing a bag of lemon drops and inquire about her health. She had smiled brightly and answered she was doing fine. Yei did not speak about what happened at school. Mifune did not see any parents or any visitors for Yei. She ate a few lemon drops and asked him about his career. He said it had to have something to do with swords. She had scoffed good-naturedly and said teasingly _men_.

Then she looked at him steadily from her hospital bed. She looked him right in the eye. Quietly she told him that she wasn't going to live much longer. Mifune had shaken his head in bewilderment.

'Your getting better.'

'I don't feel better. I feel worse. This morning I coughed up blood.'

On the outside it looked like Yei had only broken a leg and might have a minor concussion. On the inside she was suffering from internal bleeding and a blood clot was steadily building up in her lung and was soon going to travel to her heart and shut down it down. She was going to die. She didn't know it yet.

Mifune was about to head out of the room immediately for medical assistance but the look on Yei's face stopped him. She was always smiling or laughing but now her face was dead serious. She looked at him and said slowly,

'You live the life you love. That's the only way to live.

He had frowned at the time but he knew now. He understood ever little thing that Yei did that day at the hospital.

She had smiled for his sake. She had accepted the lemon drop for his sake. She had held back the coughs that were tugging at her throat. She held on to her life for his sake.

Yei continued, 'I don't have anyone that loves me. I don't live seven houses to the left. I live in a hotel and pay the rent with my night job. I sing at a café three streets down. I'm poor, and if I do live, I'll never be able to pay the medical bill. As is, I probably don't have enough money to pay for my own burial. But this is the life I love because I've learned to love it. Now I'm learning how to let go of this life. That's how it is Mifune. So let me die without all the fuss and mess.'

He had slowly walked out of the room. He looked back, just a second, and there she was like nothing had passed between the two of them. She had smiled brightly and waves at him, then she made a peace sign and held up the bag of lemon drops he had brought her.

It was like she hadn't confessed everything in a few short sentences, so unlike her, like she hadn't asked him to let her die. He still remembers her smile, her wide brown eyes (they twinkled in the sun and shone when she talked about teaching), her sunny attitude, and her constant happy chatter.

Mifune found out who killed her during the summer. A mafia boss was being escorted in a get away car. He had angered another mafia boss by shopping (of all things) in that his enemy's territory. Yei was on the crossroad and got hit. The car drove away unscathed and all this Mifune would not have found out if he had not joined the local mafia as an assassin.

He didn't go to college like Yei would have wanted him too.

He sees her in Angela. He remembers her carefree attitude about everything. He sees that in the children he meets. That's why he wants to be a teacher too. That's why he loves children. He took a little piece of Yei with him when he left the hospital and he's been keeping that little piece alive all this time. He has been keeping Yei alive all this time.

He sees Yei in Tsubaki too. That's why he thinks she deserves better, because Yei deserved better than what the gods had dished out to her. Yei _had_ been different, she _had_ understood and though she had her faults Mifune had never found anyone quite like Yei in all his years.

Now his years all mean nothing because he's dieing but he's lived a life he's loved and he has no regrets.

Not one regret.

None at all…

_1 2 3  
That's the speed of the seed  
A B C  
That's the speed of the need  
You can dream a little dream  
Or you can live a little dream  
I'd rather live it  
Cuz dreamers always chase  
But never get it_

-No Regrets by Aesop Rock

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	3. THREE

444

Maka had always been curious about when Soul commented about souls. He said that they tasted _great_. She wanted to know what _he_ tasted like. You can't taste your own soul (duh).

She had caught herself daydreaming about what Soul might taste like during a particularly boring lecture that Dr. Stein had been animatedly gesturing about. It had something to do with the killing of animals through the use of blunt head trauma without damaging the brain. Apparently it was an incredibly delicate procedure demanding the utmost attention of the killer, whatever.

Ever since, Maka's free time had been plagued with thoughts of Soul.

What if he tasted like apples? She liked apples. Or what if he tasted like the raw meat he was so fond of eating? That was nasty. What if he tasted like instant ramen? Maka cringed. Let's think positive thoughts (wince).

In all of her seventeen years she's only been kissed twice. Both of them had occurred during strictly business-like situations.

Her first kiss had been with Soul. It hadn't been romantic. Not at all and Maka had been a little disappointed (and a teeny bit proud). It had been on a mission, love potions all around and a lunatic killer who wore poisonous lipstick and sucked out her victims' brains through a heart shaped hole she carved in their skulls. No one could really blame them for what happened.

Her second kiss had been with Death the Kid (Soul didn't know).

Kid and Maka had had to act like a couple because the hotel they were infiltrating had been specially built for _couples on the run_ (hahaha). It had been in a ballroom and had only occurred it would have seemed suspicious not to be lip-locked (when everyone had practically been on top of each other). She had been completely lucid when she broke away from him and (to be honest) she had always _assumed_ that kissing was supposed to make your heart pound.

She had probably been reading to much cliché romance novels, shame on her.

That had been three years ago. Maka knows better now. She shouldn't daydream on a mission, no matter how distracting Soul is in a pair of swim-trunks. That's very distracting for your information.

He's everything you want  
He's everything you need  
He's everything inside of you  
That you wish you could be  
He says all the right things  
At exactly the right time  
But he means nothing to you  
And you don't know why

-Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon


	4. FOUR

000

His earliest memory of the piano is of his little toddler fingers flying up and down the black and white keys. He's on the stage. He's performing and the crowd claps and claps and claps. He feels great (magnanimous, noble, regal) after he completes his performance. He bows and he hears the women in the front exclaim at how cute he is.

He is only five.

He smiles to himself as he walks off the stage toward the designated area where his parents are sitting. This time they'll definitely compliment him like they do Wes. This was his best recital yet; they'll kiss him on the cheek just like Nana does when he sees her after the four of them get home. They'll praise him like they do Wes.

They don't see how well he's behaving. He's on his best behavior. He's walking up the aisle slowly like Nana told him.

He's sitting down and smoothing out the creases in his pants. He's folding his hands neatly in his lap. He isn't crying when they don't notice him. He's not bawling when his parents only clap when Wes gets on the stage. He's not even going to throw a tantrum when he hears the girls in the front exclaim how _absolutely adorable _Wes is.

Soul Eater Evans was a good boy. He did good, right? (Right Mommy? Right Daddy? He did good, right?)

Sometimes, it feels like Nana is the only one who loves him. It's not hard to believe.

_Tonight I'm so cold  
this sorrow takes ahold.  
Don't leave me hear so cold.  
Never want to be so cold._

-Falling Into the Black by Skillet


	5. FIVE

555

The world is a stage.

He is an actor on that stage and he aims to be the best up on that stage. He pretends that he already is.

Maybe he has already accomplished his goal. Maybe he really is insensitive and completely clueless and an attention-seeking-muscle-head. Maybe he's none of those. Maybe he's all of these.

Maybe he's a blue boy with a broken family and a need for attention because he feels unloved. Maybe he's only this insensitive because if he weren't, he'd break apart into so many pieces that even all of all the kings men would never be able to put him back together.

But we'll never know. He's the world's best actor after all.

Black Star is the star of his own back alley show with broken glass and shattered dreams littering his woe-begotten stage.

Maybe he's all of the above. Maybe he's none of these.

_I'm feeling like I'm falling away (yeah),  
I'm feeling like I'm falling away.  
People stop and stare but I don't really care,  
Cause I'm not really here and you're not really there, there._

-Falling Away by Jupiter Rising

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**A/N:**_ All done. x3 _


	6. SIX

**A/N**: _A ginormous thanks to mangaluvr and Pippin's Socks and to all who survived the first five chapters. ^^ Medusa was such an eccentric character to write about.  
_

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She loved her babies.

Her snakes were her babies.

Her precious treasures that lived and died in _her_. They spent their lives inside of her. They twisted through her flesh and swam through her veins. She loved them more than she could ever love Chrona.

Both species (human and snake) were her children but her reptilian brood was much more interesting. She loved them much, much, much more. They were her sweety-tweeties. They were her darling-slitherers. They were her dearest-minions.

They did what she ordered and never questioned her motives. They were simple and beautifully complex. They understood her like no one else. They adored her and in turn she adored them.

How could she not?

Some were multi-colored with shimmering scales of blue and green (garden snakes altered by magic). Some spread threatening hoods of black and red and had poisonous fangs that dripped acidic venom (cross breed between black widow and cobra). Some were long and elegant and very flexible that could swim (sea snakes with some personal improvements). Some glided when they slithered off tree branches and into the air (tree snakes with wings).

She loved (doted on, held dear, thought highly of) them all. They were her babies. She couldn't bear to let them go and they in turn embraced her.

_That's it.  
I have had it with these mother fucking snakes,  
On this mother-fucking plane._

_Times are strange,  
We got a free upgrade.  
For snakes on a plane,_

-Bring It (Snakes on a Plane) by Cobra Starship

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	7. SEVEN

**777**

She could taste him on her lips. She could taste the madness in his mind and she wanted him to let go. Feel the insanity run through his veins and enjoy the rush of the kill.

Medusa wanted to free him from all this worldly need and live in the present, enjoy the present. Feel everything in that darkness that is insanity and feel it wash away all the need for anything else.

Insanity is the birth of anything and everything you want. So take it Stein, take everything that you ever wanted.

_Darling_…

Live with the danger flowing through your blood, and someone else's blood on your tongue.

_Dearest_…

Feel the blade as in your hand as you plunge it deep into someone's heart and savor the way the heart seems to sputter under your hand. Covet the look of surprise on your victims face.

_Honey_…

Feel the blood spurt and cover your face, lick it as it drips down to your mouth. Your tongue flicks out to taste the sweet and salty nectar of life _cascading_ down your skin, onto your clothes, drowning your mind.

_Sweetheart_…

Feel the redness seep into your arteries and sense the way your veins seem to pulse with emotions, the most primitive and animalistic kind. This kind of instinct drives men to the brink of madness.

You to the edge…what edge?

Love…

What a useless emotion. Yet here you are crying out that you love that whore, that slut, that _skank_ more that you love me. You love the light? What light?

There is no light you fool. There's only the insanity that wants to devour you and show you what the light _really_ brings. Come now. Don't be stubborn. Don't beg. Don't tell me that Marie has shown you light.

Stop telling me about how she shines like lightening and how she radiates happiness. I command you to cease in the telling of how wonderful and fulfilling she's been as part of your life. Stop. I thought you better than this.

I am Medusa, and I bring you true darkness.

_Mi Amor…_

_I wanna roll with him a hard pair we will be.  
A little gambling is fun when you're with me.  
Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun,  
And baby when it's love, if it's not rough it isn't fun…_

-Poker Face by Lady GaGa

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! Reviews and suggestions are always appreciated. **:D


	8. EIGHT

_888_

He is not gay.

Nope, he couldn't be gay.

It's not possible for people like him, to be gay.

No, no, no, no, no, he is _not_ gay.

_Why did you heart beat when you saw Free for the first time?_

Free was handsome. Everyone knew that. (Right?) He's sure that lots of peoples' hearts have beaten out of their ribcages from looking at his rugged and chiseled face. Absolutely.

_Then why do your heartstrings twang when you look at Black Star?_

He's annoying. The feelings he gets when he looks at Black Star are not _positive,_ they're impatience and disgust toward his immaturity. Even if his stomach drops to oblivion when he sees him shirtless. Anyone else would. He has nice pecks.

_If so, how come your heart forces itself up your throat and your mouth tastes bitter when you see Black Star and Tsubaki together?_

Anyone else would. They most definitely would! It's just too cuddly! It's revolting!

It's disgruntling to see their morning ritual. Tsubaki always arrives at Shibusen (she's a school counselor now, she resolves issues between weapons and their techs.) first. Black Star always arrives a few minutes after her (he creates field training programs to test the soul resonance between tech and weapon, mad-creative-evil-visionary), and always wraps his arms around her, belly to back. Black Star always knows it's her. (He once hired someone to dress as Tsubaki and act as the counselor's assistant for a day. It didn't work.) He always kisses her temple and always whispers a good morning into her ear, just for her. He's not jealous of the way Black Star's lips brush against her earlobe. He's not jealous that she _always_ smiles a tiny smile that's _always_ just for Black Star alone.

Nope not jealous one bit.

_Then why don't you look at the girls that pass by on the streets?_

That one is easy. It's because he doesn't have the time to care. Besides, half of them aren't symmetrical and if he looked at them he'd have a heart attack.

_Really?_

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

_Then why were you just checking out that __man__ that just walked down the street?_

Well. He was symmetrically dressed. He was pleasing toward the eye.

_What if I told you that a love between a man and another man is symmetrical? Don't you think so? If so, then isn't the love between a woman and another woman also symmetrical? While the love between a man and a woman is asymmetrical (for obvious reasons) all are equally beautiful. That is indisputable. _

Death the Kid grinned as he walked into his perfectly symmetrical house and called out to Liz and Patty.

"Liz! Patty! I think I might be gay!"

_I kissed a boy for the very first time  
Can't explain this feeling going out of my mind  
I kissed a boy and it made me feel fine  
I'll remember this moment until the end of time_

_-_I Kissed A Boy by Triple Image

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**A/N:** Just because I wanted to write something crack-ish. :)


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